Michael Trucano

Michael Trucano is the World Bank's Senior Education & Technology Policy Specialist and Global Lead for Innovation in Education, working on issues at the intersection of technology use and education in middle- and low-income countries and emerging markets around the world.

At a practical working level, Mike provides policy advice, research and technical assistance to governments seeking to utilize new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their education systems. Over the past 20 years, Mike has been advisor on, evaluator of, and/or working-level participant in, educational technology initiatives in over 50 middle- and low-income countries.

A frequent public speaker and interview subject on the use of technology in education around the world, and on ICT use for development (ICT4D) purposes more broadly, he is the principal voice behind the World Bank's influential EduTech blog. He also regularly serves as a 'master of ceremonies' or moderator at conferences and industry events, including the annual global symposium on ICT and education in Seoul, which he helped to establish in 2007. You can follow Mike on Twitter@trucano.

In addition to his advisory work on projects funded by the World Bank and other international aid agencies and donors, he serves on a number of external advisory boards for non-profit groups, international development agencies and prize committees, including Digital Promise Global, Dfid's Digital Advisory Panel and the International Literacy Prizes of the U.S. Library of Congress.

In the late 1990s, Mike was a core member of the team that developed and implemented the pioneering World Links for Development program, a teacher professional development initiative which introduced educational technologies for the first time in education systems in 22 medium- and low-income countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. While at World Links, he initiated and coordinated related country programs in China, India and Southeast Asia.

Mike is also known for his work organizing off-the-record efforts to help groups learn from 'failed' projects and initiatives, in the hope that sharing lessons from 'failure' might make 'success' more likely in the future.